Our new pond

welcome to Our Water garden. We decided to turn our very large GH(90x120) into a tropical paradise.after all Dear Hubbys hard work was done we have one problem.
HELP.....Please Teach us how to Maintain this wonderful pond.
It is 4x6x2 with side shelves we have an extra filter going into it and the waterfall filter.It has 2 very small water hyacanths,a set of EE and a corkscrew plant.We would like to add a few more plants but don`t want to overload it( how many can safely be placed in the pond) We would also like to add a few fish(how many).
Thank you for any advice.
Pheadra

This message was edited Aug 30, 2006 8:12 AM

After much research,We have decided to put only 3 goldfish
in it,and nothing on the floor of the pond.We`re still not sure how many plants to put in it,most of the research told us to fill it up to control the alage,but it will not have direct sun,it will have morning sun coming through the backside of the GH.the top is the WhitePoly.

Any Plant suggestions for these conditions?
Thank you
Pheadra

What a great looking pond! Yes, with a smaller pond, keeping your fish limit down is best. Your illustris colocasia (elephant ear) is a great addition.
You can not overload a pond with plants. If you don't have sun on the pond, you will have far less of an algae problem. You won't be able to get waterlilies to bloom, so you can either avoid them or use them for the leaves and not the blooms. A few varieties have burgundy or speckled leaves, so can still be attractive, even without the blooms.
What you'll need to decide is what water level of plants you want. Underwater ozygenators, such as anacharis, isn't really seen much, but give the fish a place to hide, and add oxygen to the water.
Surface level plants such as waterlilies, snowflakes, water poppies, water lettuce, and water hyacinth, will float along the surface, shading the water, and trailing roots that give fish hide away space, keep algae down, and help filter the water.
Above surface water plants are great landing pads for dragon flies and frogs, and show the most visually.
Water irises, various elephant ears, papyrus, water cannas, etc add the height and visual interest you may be looking for.
:)

Pheadra, you pond looks great! I have a new pond myself, and it's my first. Mine is 4'x6' and about 15" deep. I have 6 fish in mine, 3 fantail goldfish and 3 comets. So far they are doing great. I want to add one more, a shubunkin, and some snails. Mary, do you think that would be too much for my small pond? For plants I have one water lily, water lettuce, water hyacinth and pickerel weed. I plan to put in a small heater for the winter to keep the pond from freezing over, as I'm in zone 6 here. This is my water garden.

Karen

I absolutely *love* your water bell, Karen! It is one of my favorite water features in a pond. The bells look really neat when they are illuminated from underneath with colored lights at night.

Pheadra--you have a lovely little pond and I wish you much success with it. Your colocasia is one of my favorite pond plants.

Kenya

Thank you for the complement, Kenya. I would love to get a light to illuminate it. That would be really nice.

Karen

georgiagarden3

I was told when I put in my water feature 9 years ago that at least 1/3 of it should be covered with plants.

Jeri

Thanks everybody, The little pond has began to fill up we did add
a few more goodies to it 5 water lettuces, and 4 water hyacinths and a canna or 2 .We also add a U.V light, we couldn`t get rid of the green water.
Pheadra